We are growing the OpenNTF Catalog

Posted by Peter Tanner on July 11, 2011

We have been working recently on getting
a much higher percentage of OpenNTF submissions into the Catalog – as
we push for more high quality OpenNTF projects.

Getting a project listed in the Apache
or GPL Catalog means that:- the authors contributions are licensed
to OpenNTF under an ICLA or CCLA (this is now required for any OpenNTF
contribution);- any third party code is listed, and
that the licenses are compatible;- that we inform the US government of
any encryption code. (legal requirement);- the project code is functional and
that there is sufficient documentation.

So, as IP Manager, I have been scanning
all the projects that have been submitted since January 1, 2011. When
I find problems, such as code taken from some website without a clear license,
or an encrypted nsf, or a Notice file that does not list all the 3rd party
code in the submission – I send an email to the author requesting that
it be fixed.

In only a few cases will we actually
pull the code off the site. This might happen when there is a clear license
incompatibility (such as using GPL code in an Apache project), or if the
source code has not made available.

We are working on the website to clarify
when projects are in the Catalog. Currently, the project and release
pages have an “In Catalog” line – but due to a bug, the answer seems
to be nearly always “no”. We are working on fixing that – and
the answer for the vast majority of 2011 submissions will soon be “yes”.
So you will have some assurance that reasonable checks have been
done to check for IP issues.

I'll post further updates as we move
forward on making OpenNTF a site for trusted software.